Arizona Road Bike Ride
Mount Lemmon Summit Ride
Tucson, Arizona

Ride Synopsis:
(one way)

Description:

The Mount Lemmon summit ride is often cited as one of the top ten mountaintop rides in the United States and for good reason. You cruise through about five or seven different life zones on the way from the base of the mountain to the top. At the bottom, you're looking at saguaro, prickley pear, and barrel cactus. By the time you hit the top, you're in the alpine territory of large pine trees, aspens, and fern forests.

Start the ride from the base of the Mount Lemmon Highway, which is found on the northeast side of Tucson (see map for how to get there). There are a couple of ways to do the ride. You can shuttle a car to the top and do a one-way run, or you can turn around at the top and head back down to where you started. Either way, you start by parking off the side of the road where the Mount Lemmon Highway begins. I believe there's a small parking area, or you can just park on the gravel shoulder if that is filled. Load up the bike and head up the highway. No muss, no fuss.

The climbing is fairly mellow for the most part, just honking on up the hill forever. After doing a climb past the Palisades Ranger Station (mp 20 or so), you actually do a screaming descent down a big hill before you climb for a short bit to get to the ski area. Bear in mind, that you have to reclimb that hill if you do the round trip run and it will be a grunt. The good news is that it's pretty much a cruise down the hill from there on to the bottom.